NJ weather: Cool and quiet for now, warmer this weekend

The forecast for the Garden State includes sunshine by Thursday afternoon, and another warmup for the weekend.

There's really not much going on in the weather department right now. I'm not complaining of course — it's been a pretty active winter season so far. We've got a few fairly pleasant late January days ahead, especially with a warmup around the corner.

Thursday morning is starting off cold — our coldest morning in almost a week, in fact. With temperatures mostly in the 20s and wind chills mostly in the teens, it would be a good idea to don the heavier winter coat again.

The first half of Thursday will be plagued with clouds and a 20+ mph wind. There have even been some snow flurries flying around mainly South Jersey. Look for sunnier skies and calmer conditions to take over by lunchtime. Still, with the core of this cold air mass settling on top of us, it's going to remain chilly through Thursday afternoon. High temperatures are forecast to reach the mid to upper 30s, a few degrees below normal for this time of year.

Thanks to clear skies and calm winds, I suspect Thursday night will be even colder than Wednesday night. Models suggest low temps will dip into the teens for practically the entire state. Another bundle up night/morning for sure!

Friday's forecast doesn't look half bad, with mostly sunny skies and highs around 40 degrees. Can't ask for much more than that, considering it's late January.

Warmer air surges north into New Jersey for the final weekend of January. My current thinking is that Saturday will be the warmer, drier, and more pleasant day of the two. Increasing clouds won't prevent high temperatures from climbing to about the 50 to 55 degree range, well above seasonal norms.

While Saturday daytime should stay dry, scattered showers may creep into the state Saturday evening (after about 7 p.m.).

The threat of raindrops looks to continue for much of Sunday, which looks to be a cloudy and pretty damp day. At least we'll stay mild, just a few degrees cooler than Saturday around 50 degrees.

Monday looks to be our next cooldown day, although forecast details are pretty muddy for next week. As thermometers drop late Monday, there could be a few inconsequential snow showers around the state. I'm still thinking our next chance for a more significant storm (wintry or otherwise) won't come until late next week (around Groundhog Day), at the earliest.

Dan Zarrow is Chief Meteorologist for Townsquare Media New Jersey. Follow him on Facebook or Twitter for the latest forecast and realtime weather updates.